William Michael Byrne

William "Billy" Michael Byrne (1775–1798) from Glen of the Downs, County Wicklow, Ireland was a key figure in the United Irishmen in the years leading to the 1798 Rebellion against the British government.

[1] And with the assistance of his protestant friend Thomas Miller of Powerscourt, he undertook the organisation of military and civil branches of the United Irishmen in Rathdown - recruiting 2,000 men by late 1797.

In October of that year, Byrne was forced to resign from the yeomen after refusing to swear the oath of loyalty and his activities began to come to the attention of Dublin Castle.

Byrne's lawyer, John Philpot Curran KC, the leading defence counsel of the age, attempted to cast Reynold's character and motives in a foul light but it was futile.

[3] In his last days, efforts were made to spare Byrne's life if he would only express regret for his actions and accuse Lord Edward Fitzgerald for having led him to this point.